2. The position of “the giver” confers the aid worker the power to decide who is deserving of aid, reinforcing hierarchies, and homogenizing the refugee population. This is same kind of calculation that the 1AC criticizes.
Barbara Harrell-Bond, The American University in Cairo, Forced Migration and Refugee Studies Acting Director, 2002, Can Humanitarian Work with Refugees be Humane? Human Rights Quarterly 24.1 pg. 51-85, Project Muse.
The main context in which the distribution of internationally-funded assistance to refugees takes place is the refugee camp. Despite their ostensible "temporary" nature, these settings have become the main living environments for many refugees for years and, in some cases, for more than one generation. As Black has pointed out, there are many and widely varying types of camps and settlements and living conditions within them, but most share certain common characteristics, including an authoritarian structure of administration. 23
In a refugee camp where food and other assistance is being distributed, the source of the gift is a far distant foreign donor. The role of the gift-giver, in Mauss' terms, and the power to decide who deserves to receive, has been transferred by donors to the staff of humanitarian organizations. There is thus a special relationship of the power of the person who distributes the "handouts" (as they are often disparagingly described) with the refugee who must passively receive. The power of the helper is further "legitimized by its implicit association with altruistic compassion." 24 Of course, this method of distribution is "functional": its effect is to reduce visible dissent.
The Non-Government Organization/United Nations(NGO/UN) staff administering the distribution of assistance and representing the humanitarian regime are themselves hierarchically organized, with the staff of UNHCR typically "senior" to all others, including those who are representatives of the host government. 25 Refugee populations are heterogeneous in every respect (age, education, gender, social class, and so on), but the per capita method of distribution of aid is the "leveler," it emphasizes their "equality" or homogeneity and their inferior position vis-à-vis those who control the distribution of aid. 26 Aid--the need for it and the responsibility to distribute it--is the unifying principle that binds these diverse actors together. [End Page 56]
The authoritarian character of camp administration is justified on the grounds that humanitarian agencies have been delegated the responsibility for distributing "equitably" and accounting for funds earmarked by donors for "deserving" refugees, objectives that require strict control to achieve. At the same time, both sets of actors are aware of the symbiotic nature of their relationships. One Mozambican refugee in Malawi, having been denied her ration, articulated this relationship clearly as she cried out for all to hear: "Remember, you have your job because we are here."
3. The inescapable discourse of humanitarianism that the Aff employs is a bio-political tool used to subjugate refugees .
Anne Caldwell, Ph.D., prof political science, University of Louisville, 2004, Bio-Sovereignty and the Emergence of Humanity, The Johns Hopkins University Press, Project Muse.
These dynamics of interventions are one sign that global bio-sovereignty is supplanting nation-state sovereignty. That shift is not always easy to recognize. Humanitarian interventions, for example, often make use of the language of the nation-state. They can easily appear as repetitions of modern nation state sovereignty. This is why Soguk, a scholar critical of the nation state order, argues interventions perpetuate that order. As he argues, interventions, particularly around refugee crises, produce "the specific territorially bound and territorially activated hierarchy of citizen/nation/state on which the very ontology of the state system continues to rest" (1999: 188). Humanitarianism, treating refugees as "aberrant citizens" (p. 194) to be returned to their appropriate nation, seems to reinforce modern territorial sovereignty. Nevertheless, such actions exceed the order of the nation-states. Refugees, as we have seen, embody not only nation-state citizenship, but a human or international status. The moment one sovereign power acts to protect those who belong to other states, or those who have been so severely abandoned by their own states as to have no other category of belonging than humanity, sovereignty reinforces an international definition of life, rights and belonging. In that moment, sovereignty undermines the very identifications and connections of the citizen/nation/state order. A sovereignty ruling over such groups is no longer liberal and national, but bio-political and global.
4. To say that the refugees should form their own political identity is pompous and ignorant. It presupposes a natural unity among the refugees when, in reality, refugees come from over 40 different tribes, different lifestyles, and different ethnicities.
Professor Adam Gaiser, Ph.D, Assistant Professor of Religion, emphasis in Islamic studies, May 13, 2006, The Conflict in Darfur: a Short History, Http://www.damanga.org/old%20files/ darfur_conflict_history.html
Darfur is the Central-West to North-Western region of Sudan that comprises three of the Republic of Sudan’s 26 states (Western Darfur, Northern Darfur and Southern Darfur). Although the name “Darfur” means “home of the Fur,” the Darfur region is home to several tribal and ethnic groups, some of whom identify themselves as “African” tribes while others call themselves “Arabs.” Years of close proximity have made the racial differences between the “African” and “Arab” tribes difficult for outsiders to discern. In part, it is the distinction between settled-agricultural and nomadic-pastoral lifestyles that classifies a group as “African” or “Arab.” The most numerous of Darfur’s groups are the Fur, Zagawa, Massaleit and Dajo (in addition to nearly 40 smaller tribes in the region), who identify themselves as “African” and practice a settled form of agriculture. Most of the region’s peoples profess Islam.
1. Chadian generosity is running out - local tensions have led to an increase in anti-refugee violence including rape - and Chadians are putting pressure on the government to do something. Permanency turns case - it’s just a matter of time.
Agence France Presse, September 22, 2004, UN worried by rising tensions in Chad over Darfur refugees, Lexis.
In the beginning, the Chadians were very generous sharing their meagre resources with the refugees," he said, adding that resentment has since built up slowly among locals in Sudan's western neighbour, one of the world's poorest and most arid nations.
"Soon the refugees were lodged in camps and were getting food while the locals were getting none. The rains this year are one-third of what they are normally and there has not been a good harvest. The lack of water and firewood has not helped either."
Fakhoury said there had been growing reports of refugee women being attacked, sometimes raped, when venturing out from the camps to gather firewood and water but added that they sometimes vandalised Chadian properties, taking wood from perimeter fences.
"In many areas, the refugees form 30 percent of the population and in some spots they outnumber the locals by three to one," he said.
To add to the problems, the UN does not have enough money at its disposal.
"We only have 50 percent of our requirements," he said. "We had budgeted 54 million dollars for this year but we revised it to 114 million because of the extremely hostile conditions in Chad," he said referring to the almost non-existing infrastructure in Chad.
A war in Sudan's western Darfur region, one of the country's most marginalised regions, was fueled by a black-led rebellion against Khartoum, which responded by giving Arab militias known as the Janjaweed a free rein to crack down on the rebels and their supporters.
In 19 months since the start of the conflict, some 50,000 people have been killed, according to UN estimates, and well over a million displaced.
There are currently 10 refugee camps in Chad and the UN is trying to move many refugees living in makeshift shelters along the 600-kilometre (375-mile) border to avert cross-frontier raids blamed on the Janjaweed.
Some of the camps are stretched well beyond their limit, like the one at Bredjing -- almost opposite another giant refugee camp in Sudan called El-Geneina.
Bredjing houses 40,272 people -- more than double its capacity.
Guillermo Bettocchi, UN deputy representative on protection, said cross-border attacks from Sudan had decreased.
"The last one happened about three weeks ago when a group came into a town and attacked a house and killed four brothers," he said.
But with patrols by the French military, soldiers from the African Union and a stepped up Chadian force, these have come down, he said, stressing that earlier raids mainly targeted cattle owned by the refugees.
Worries about the crisis have sharpened over the fact that Chadian President Idriss Deby is increasingly facing a difficult situation over the growing local resentment of the refugees.
Barbara Harrell-Bond, The American University in Cairo, Forced Migration and Refugee Studies Acting Director, 2002, Can Humanitarian Work with Refugees be Humane? Human Rights Quarterly 24.1 pg. 51-85, Project Muse.
The main context in which the distribution of internationally-funded assistance to refugees takes place is the refugee camp. Despite their ostensible "temporary" nature, these settings have become the main living environments for many refugees for years and, in some cases, for more than one generation. As Black has pointed out, there are many and widely varying types of camps and settlements and living conditions within them, but most share certain common characteristics, including an authoritarian structure of administration. 23
In a refugee camp where food and other assistance is being distributed, the source of the gift is a far distant foreign donor. The role of the gift-giver, in Mauss' terms, and the power to decide who deserves to receive, has been transferred by donors to the staff of humanitarian organizations. There is thus a special relationship of the power of the person who distributes the "handouts" (as they are often disparagingly described) with the refugee who must passively receive. The power of the helper is further "legitimized by its implicit association with altruistic compassion." 24 Of course, this method of distribution is "functional": its effect is to reduce visible dissent.
The Non-Government Organization/United Nations(NGO/UN) staff administering the distribution of assistance and representing the humanitarian regime are themselves hierarchically organized, with the staff of UNHCR typically "senior" to all others, including those who are representatives of the host government. 25 Refugee populations are heterogeneous in every respect (age, education, gender, social class, and so on), but the per capita method of distribution of aid is the "leveler," it emphasizes their "equality" or homogeneity and their inferior position vis-à-vis those who control the distribution of aid. 26 Aid--the need for it and the responsibility to distribute it--is the unifying principle that binds these diverse actors together. [End Page 56]
The authoritarian character of camp administration is justified on the grounds that humanitarian agencies have been delegated the responsibility for distributing "equitably" and accounting for funds earmarked by donors for "deserving" refugees, objectives that require strict control to achieve. At the same time, both sets of actors are aware of the symbiotic nature of their relationships. One Mozambican refugee in Malawi, having been denied her ration, articulated this relationship clearly as she cried out for all to hear: "Remember, you have your job because we are here."
3. The inescapable discourse of humanitarianism that the Aff employs is a bio-political tool used to subjugate refugees .
Anne Caldwell, Ph.D., prof political science, University of Louisville, 2004, Bio-Sovereignty and the Emergence of Humanity, The Johns Hopkins University Press, Project Muse.
These dynamics of interventions are one sign that global bio-sovereignty is supplanting nation-state sovereignty. That shift is not always easy to recognize. Humanitarian interventions, for example, often make use of the language of the nation-state. They can easily appear as repetitions of modern nation state sovereignty. This is why Soguk, a scholar critical of the nation state order, argues interventions perpetuate that order. As he argues, interventions, particularly around refugee crises, produce "the specific territorially bound and territorially activated hierarchy of citizen/nation/state on which the very ontology of the state system continues to rest" (1999: 188). Humanitarianism, treating refugees as "aberrant citizens" (p. 194) to be returned to their appropriate nation, seems to reinforce modern territorial sovereignty. Nevertheless, such actions exceed the order of the nation-states. Refugees, as we have seen, embody not only nation-state citizenship, but a human or international status. The moment one sovereign power acts to protect those who belong to other states, or those who have been so severely abandoned by their own states as to have no other category of belonging than humanity, sovereignty reinforces an international definition of life, rights and belonging. In that moment, sovereignty undermines the very identifications and connections of the citizen/nation/state order. A sovereignty ruling over such groups is no longer liberal and national, but bio-political and global.
4. To say that the refugees should form their own political identity is pompous and ignorant. It presupposes a natural unity among the refugees when, in reality, refugees come from over 40 different tribes, different lifestyles, and different ethnicities.
Professor Adam Gaiser, Ph.D, Assistant Professor of Religion, emphasis in Islamic studies, May 13, 2006, The Conflict in Darfur: a Short History, Http://www.damanga.org/old%20files/ darfur_conflict_history.html
Darfur is the Central-West to North-Western region of Sudan that comprises three of the Republic of Sudan’s 26 states (Western Darfur, Northern Darfur and Southern Darfur). Although the name “Darfur” means “home of the Fur,” the Darfur region is home to several tribal and ethnic groups, some of whom identify themselves as “African” tribes while others call themselves “Arabs.” Years of close proximity have made the racial differences between the “African” and “Arab” tribes difficult for outsiders to discern. In part, it is the distinction between settled-agricultural and nomadic-pastoral lifestyles that classifies a group as “African” or “Arab.” The most numerous of Darfur’s groups are the Fur, Zagawa, Massaleit and Dajo (in addition to nearly 40 smaller tribes in the region), who identify themselves as “African” and practice a settled form of agriculture. Most of the region’s peoples profess Islam.
1. Chadian generosity is running out - local tensions have led to an increase in anti-refugee violence including rape - and Chadians are putting pressure on the government to do something. Permanency turns case - it’s just a matter of time.
Agence France Presse, September 22, 2004, UN worried by rising tensions in Chad over Darfur refugees, Lexis.
In the beginning, the Chadians were very generous sharing their meagre resources with the refugees," he said, adding that resentment has since built up slowly among locals in Sudan's western neighbour, one of the world's poorest and most arid nations.
"Soon the refugees were lodged in camps and were getting food while the locals were getting none. The rains this year are one-third of what they are normally and there has not been a good harvest. The lack of water and firewood has not helped either."
Fakhoury said there had been growing reports of refugee women being attacked, sometimes raped, when venturing out from the camps to gather firewood and water but added that they sometimes vandalised Chadian properties, taking wood from perimeter fences.
"In many areas, the refugees form 30 percent of the population and in some spots they outnumber the locals by three to one," he said.
To add to the problems, the UN does not have enough money at its disposal.
"We only have 50 percent of our requirements," he said. "We had budgeted 54 million dollars for this year but we revised it to 114 million because of the extremely hostile conditions in Chad," he said referring to the almost non-existing infrastructure in Chad.
A war in Sudan's western Darfur region, one of the country's most marginalised regions, was fueled by a black-led rebellion against Khartoum, which responded by giving Arab militias known as the Janjaweed a free rein to crack down on the rebels and their supporters.
In 19 months since the start of the conflict, some 50,000 people have been killed, according to UN estimates, and well over a million displaced.
There are currently 10 refugee camps in Chad and the UN is trying to move many refugees living in makeshift shelters along the 600-kilometre (375-mile) border to avert cross-frontier raids blamed on the Janjaweed.
Some of the camps are stretched well beyond their limit, like the one at Bredjing -- almost opposite another giant refugee camp in Sudan called El-Geneina.
Bredjing houses 40,272 people -- more than double its capacity.
Guillermo Bettocchi, UN deputy representative on protection, said cross-border attacks from Sudan had decreased.
"The last one happened about three weeks ago when a group came into a town and attacked a house and killed four brothers," he said.
But with patrols by the French military, soldiers from the African Union and a stepped up Chadian force, these have come down, he said, stressing that earlier raids mainly targeted cattle owned by the refugees.
Worries about the crisis have sharpened over the fact that Chadian President Idriss Deby is increasingly facing a difficult situation over the growing local resentment of the refugees.